When his parents died, he returned to Gaza and sold all of his inheritence, distributing all of his wealth to the poor. After this he departed for the [desert]] of Palestine, devoting himself entirely to prayer and fasting. His asceticism was based on SaintAnthony the Great's model. He fasted daily, eating only modest foods, lived in a hut made of reeds and practised unceasing prayer. God rewarded his spiritual efforts and bestowed upon him the grace to perform miracles. His fame spread throughout Palestine and it was not long before he fled these distractions and settled eventually in Cyprus.

SaintHilarion the Great departed from this world in 372 AD at age of 80.